Manicure and pedicure combos: how to offer them online

Offer the manicure and pedicure combo as its own service, with its own length and price, rather than asking clients to book two separate slots back to back. Set the length from your real timing, which can be shorter than the two services added together because the welcome, the soak and the drying overlap, and show the combo price clearly. For friends who want to come together, use a slot with two places if you have two stations, or two slots side by side if you work alone.

When clients book a manicure and a pedicure separately, they have to find two free slots next to each other, which isn't always possible, and someone else can take the second one in between. A single combo service guarantees the whole block in one booking. It also lets you set a combo price, which clients see before they book.

These are examples: time yourself, and adjust both length and price to your work. On Book, create each combo as a service with its own description and price, and open slots at its length.

Every manicure could in theory be combined with every pedicure, but a menu with a dozen combos is hard to read. Pick three or four combinations that match what clients ask for, from a quick express pair to a full spa session, and let the rest be booked as separate services. If a client wants an unusual mix, they can say so in the note or call, and you can book the right length yourself from your calendar.

One order that works well is to start with the feet while the hands soak or rest, then do the hands, so the client leaves with dry nails and doesn't need to handle shoes on fresh polish. Whatever your order, say in the description how long the combo lasts and whether the client should come in open shoes if they choose regular polish on the toes.

Leave a gap after a combo for cleaning both stations, since hands and feet use different tools and surfaces.

Two friends, a mother and daughter, or a bride and her bridesmaid may want to come at the same time. How you handle it depends on your setup:

The booking form takes one person per booking online, so say in the description how friends should book. Book gives one booking page per business, not a calendar per technician; if two of you work in the salon, one service per person is a simple workaround.

Combos are long, so they need long free blocks. Place them where they fit best, for example late mornings, Saturday afternoons or a late evening, and keep shorter services around them. A slot created once can be repeated on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so a weekly pattern of combo slots takes minutes to set up. Before summer and the festive season, when hands and feet are both in demand, a few extra combo slots can fill quickly.

Combos also make good gifts. If you sell gift vouchers, say in the combo description how voucher holders should book, for example by writing the voucher number in the note. You receive an email for each new booking, with the note, so you can check the voucher before the appointment. Book doesn't take payments or manage vouchers; keep your usual process.

If a combo has to move, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email them when a booking changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited bookings and services, no commission and no contract.